AMERKS CONTINUE ‘CHASING DOWN GREATNESS’
Oct 10, 2023
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48
A new season is just that; a fresh slate, a new beginning, a chance to hit the reset button. The approach is day-to-day, and the past is the past.
Still, it’s hard not to think back as the Rochester Americans will skate onto Blue Cross Arena ice for their 2023-24 season opener on Friday against the Bridgeport Islanders. It will be even harder to kick the nostalgia once everyone looks to the rafters where they’ll find the new, bright red banner commemorating the year that saw the Amerks become North Division Champions during the postseason, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 19 years.
Some interesting similarities come to mind when looking back at the 2022-23 Amerks and their 2003-04 counterpart:
- Both teams reached the conference finals.
- Each squad was led by a head coach who prior to Rochester had never coached professionally (Seth Appert/Randy Cunneyworth).
- The 200405 Amerks saw 18 returnees from the year prior, including now-assistant coach, Nathan Paetsch. The 202324 Americans are also set to bring 18 names back into the fold.
Despite the bevy of similarities, there lies a clear difference. Last year’s Amerks came six wins shy of authoring a championship chapter in the team’s rich, historic book. This year, they aim to finish the story.
“It’s not the banner we wanted. We wanted a Calder Cup banner but considering that it’s been two decades of no (new) banners, you got to start somewhere. You have to chip away at chasing down greatness and last season was an important first step,” said Appert after Tuesday’s practice.
Rochester’s opening night roster is an embarrassment of riches. The 27-man roster includes 18 returnees, 10 players with NHL experience, and 23 who have already skated in an AHL game. Despite that, the team’s average age is still under 25 years old (24.68).
“We’re deep right now and that’s a good problem to have. We have a very good lineup and a very good roster, and we’ll need it,” said Appert.
On paper, there just isn’t a weakness on this team. From a goaltending standpoint, the Amerks will carry a trio of goaltenders, at least to start, in Devin Cooley, Michael Houser, and Dustin Tokarski. Their resumes combine for 28 years of pro hockey with over 560 AHL games in the crease.
Tokarski, who’s in his second stint with the Amerks after spending last year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, has 399 career AHL games and is a two-time Calder Cup winner. The former AHL All-Star and Memorial Cup winner is currently sidelined with an upper-body he sustained in training camp, but is only weeks away from becoming just the 18th goaltender all-time to appear in 400 games at the AHL level.
The deepest part of this Rochester lineup could very well be its blueline. Four of the eight defensemen on the opening night roster have spent time in the NHL.
Ethan Prow returns to wear a letter for the team having led the Amerks in points by a defenseman the last two seasons, while Jeremy Davies led the Amerks defense core with 11 goals last year.
Cale Clague spent the bulk of last season with the Sabres and notched six points (1+5) during his 14-game stint with the Amerks.
Riley Stillman is a new face to Rochester but has spent more time in the NHL than the AHL since making his pro debut in 2018.
Add the experience of Joseph Cecconi and you bolster not only a super team on the backend, but also a core of experienced bodies who can help rookies Nikita Novikov, Ryan Johnson, Zach Metsa get acclimated.
Up front, your top eight point-producing forwards are all in the mix.
Lukas Rousek led the Amerks with 16 goals and 56 points. Jiri Kulich impressed in the regular season and flourished in the playoffs, scoring seven goals as part of an 11-point performance over a dozen games to help continue growing his stock in the Sabres pipeline.
Michael Mersch will captain the Amerks once more while continuing to cement his legacy in the AHL as a full season should find the 10th-year pro approaching or surpassing 400 points.
Mason Jobst will look to build off a breakout year that saw him post a career best 38-point campaign during the regular season, then followed that by tying Mersch for the team lead during the playoffs with 13 points.
Brett Murray and Linus Weissbach each achieved 20-goal seasons with the Amerks a season ago.
Brandon Biro will likely find himself in a Sabres jersey again soon, but until then, the Amerks won’t complain about having a player who can amass 50-plus points like he did last season.
Isak Rosen looks to build off a successful debut in North America last year as the 2021 first-round draft selection of the Sabres got better as the 2022-23 season rolled along.
Speaking of Buffalo draft picks, both Olivier Nadeau (fourth round, 2021) and Viktor Neuchev (third round, 2022) will make their North American debuts in the Flower City.
Rochester opens its season looking to make a statement. Last year was not a one-off. This Amerks team is deep with experience and youth. The 72-game season starts on Friday, Oct. 13, but Appert looks to see his team take that second step and pick up from where they left of in June.
The second step along the chase to greatness begins this weekend at Blue Cross Arena.